OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma City University took three first-place votes in the preseason Sooner Athletic Conference men's soccer poll and will be expected to finish in second place in the league by SAC coaches.

The Stars went 15-4-2 last year, advancing to the SAC Tournament championship match. OCU, which finished the year ranked 25th in the NAIA, returns all-American forward Alex Gang and midfielder Stuart Hilton.

Gang, a senior from Seoul, South Korea, amassed 22 goals, two assists and 46 points last year for the Stars. Gang became SAC offensive player of the year, first-team all-SAC, CoSIDA ESPN the Magazine academic all-American and NAIA scholar-athlete as a junior.

Hilton, a senior from Liverpool, England, recorded five goals, three assists and 13 points en route to becoming a two-time all-American and first-team all-conference.

OCU returns five seniors in all – midfielder John Dill, goalkeeper Andy Fitzpatrick and defender Chris Spendlove – among 17 letter winners and eight starters.

The Stars open the year 7 p.m. Aug. 28 against Huston-Tillotson (Texas) at Stars Field.

“We had established ourselves as a regional team, and we want to get back to the national tournament,” said OCU coach Brian Harvey, who has accrued the most men's and women's wins of any coach in NAIA history. “We must have better concentration across the field.”

University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma has been picked to repeat as SAC champion according to SAC coaches.

The Drovers were 8-0-1 in the SAC and 17-2-1 overall last season. They claimed eight of 11 first-place votes and carried 98 points in the poll.

Oklahoma City finished second at 92 points. Southern Nazarene (9-6-2) is third at 76, followed by Rogers State (13-6-1) with 66, John Brown (10-8-1) with 58 and Oklahoma Christian (9-6-2) with 57.

Oklahoma Baptist is seventh at 56, followed by Mid-America Christian with 40, St. Gregory's with 31, Lubbock Christian (Texas) with 21 and Wayland Baptist (Texas) with 10.

The first NAIA national ranking comes out next week.

Sooner Athletic Conference

2010 Preseason Men's Soccer Coaches' Poll

Rank    School (1st place votes)           Points  2009 Record

1.         Science & Arts Oklahoma (8)      98         17-2-1

2.         Oklahoma City (3)                      92         15-4-2

3.         Southern Nazarene                    76         9-6-2

4.         Rogers State                             66         13-6-1

5.         John Brown                               58         10-8-1

6.         Oklahoma Christian                   57         9-6-2

7.         Oklahoma Baptist                      56         5-10-3

8.         Mid-America Christian                40         11-10-1

9.         St. Gregory's                             31         8-9

10.        Lubbock Christian                     21         NA

11.        Wayland Baptist                       10         0-16